Three men, who were members of the Salvation Army in Blackpool, have been convicted for sexual abuse offences against two schoolgirls.

Trevor Worthington, 88 was found guilty of one count of indecent assault and jailed for 12 months

His son, Philip Worthington, 64 was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault, one count of gross indecency with a child and two counts of attempted rape. He was jailed for eight years and three months.

William Tomkinson, 70 was found guilty of 10 counts of indecent assault and was jailed for four years.

A fourth man, Derek Smith, 68 pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault and was jailed for 15 months, suspended for two years.

Philip Worthington will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely; the others will be on it for 10 years.

During the trial which concluded this week, Preston Crown Court heard that one victim was abused between 1971 and 1978, the other between 1988 and 1991.

These convictions and sentences highlight that reports of sexual abuse, whether recent or otherwise, will be taken seriously. Investigating officer, Simon Morris, of Lancashire Constabulary’s Public Protection Unit said “We encourage any victim of a sexual offence to come forward – no matter how historic. They will be listened to and we will investigate all reports thoroughly.”

Here at Farleys we have a specialist team of Solicitors who specialise in this area of law and we currently represent many victims who have suffered child sexual abuse at the hands of adults. At the time, these adults may have appeared to be upstanding members of the church yet many years later have been exposed by their victims as having grossly breached the position of trust that their organisation as well as the community held them in.

If you or anyone you know has experienced any type of child sexual abuse either recently or perhaps many years ago then call our team in confidence on 0330 134 6430 or via one of the other options available on our website.

One of our specialist team will be happy to discuss your options with you in order that you are best placed to decide how to proceed.